Nintendo Sequel Rumblings

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Looking for sequels to Mario, Zelda, Earthbound or Smash Bros.? Catch the latest buzz from Japan.

By IGN Staff

The Japanese weekly gaming magazine Famitsu went behind the scenes this week to try and get the sequel skinny from the usually taciturn PR guys at the softcos making N64 games. Although Nintendo Co., Ltd. (NCL) didn't commit to definite announcements, the Japanese gaming powerhouse did let out some interesting news:

EarthBound 64 (Mother 3) now looks likely to be a Spring 2000 (Q1) release in Japan. There is some doubt, too, over whether the Japanese incarnation will be in cartridge format, 64DD or something other.

Ura-Zelda: Nintendo is still moving forward with the long-planned 64DD add-on adventure to Ocarina of Time, tentatively called Ura-Zelda in Japan. No date is set. A cartridge version for N64 owners without the DD is guaranteed.

Super Mario 64 2 is set for a release this fall in Japan -- at least according to Famitsu's sources. There are reportedly plenty of improvements and changes, not least of which you can control several characters, instead of just Mario. Miyamoto-san has, reportedly, been touting an early ROM of the game about, and yes, Luigi makes it in. It should be noted that Miyamoto has repeatedly denied that he had actively worked on the title for the past year, so take the release date with a grain of salt.

Super Mario RPG 2: The development of Super Mario RPG is still shrouded in secrecy, but it will hopefully be out before the end of this year and there will be a 64DD version.

Smash Bros. 2? HAL has currently no definite plans, but is seriously considering a sequel to the best-selling Super Smash Bros.

Nintendo PR says that there is no sequel to Star Fox planned as such, but the developers at NCL have reportedly been thinking what new stuff and what changes could be made if there were to be a sequel. It apparently depends on whether there is sufficient demand from the general public (what criteria Nintendo are using to decide, however, is unclear. Isn't the fact that the original was a massive smash hit enough?)

Famitsu also asked Nintendo about a new installment in the Metroid series, but NCL PR staff claimed that no such project is currently in the works, but that it is now considering such a title due to overwhelming response from US gamers. Interestingly, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned in an interview with Games Business earlier this year that design work on a Metroid title had commenced, but that he was not involved in the project. Project Dolphin, anyone?